Neil Lennon has hit back at the agent of Kristoffer Ajer after admitting he had heard the player’s representative’s comments regarding leaving Celtic at the end of the season.

In quotes obtained by the Daily Record, the Bhoys chief stated that the club would be the only ones deciding on whether the 21-year-old would be leaving Glasgow and hit out at Tore Pedersen.

“I’ve heard about the comments and I’m aware of it,” he said before adding: “At the end of the day the club will decide when players go, not agents or players themselves. Kris has never made any indication he wants to leave. He’s happy here, he has been playing very well, he has been very consistent.

“I think the agent has shot himself in the foot there. We have Kris tied down to a long-term contract so we’ll decide and not anyone else. There hasn’t been any interest in him that I’m aware of, certainly no one has called me about him.”

Indeed, the fighting talk from Lennon has come after Pedersen made comments to Norwegian media stating that Ajer would “definitely” be leaving the current Scottish Premiership champions at the end of the season in an interview with NTB(via Dagbladet).

It is no surprise that the Northern Irish chief has come out with a remark of the nature that he has as the 21-year-old has been a solid and consistent performer for the club so far.

The centre-back, who is valued at £2.7m (per TransferMarkt), has been a key figure for the Bhoys’ backline throughout the campaign as he has gone on to make 49 appearances across all competitions, providing the Hoops with some attacking nouse as well with four goals and two assists to his name.

To further highlight the Norwegian’s contributions this season, Ajer produced some rather impressive figures whilst Celtic were still in European competition. According to WhoScored’s data, the 21-year-old managed an average of 1.9 tackles, 1.9 interceptions, 2.3 clearances and won 3.3 aerial duels in the eight games played in the Europa League.

Lennon’s defiant comments regarding Ajer and his future at the club are hardly surprising and, in all likelihood, would have been expected as the Norway international has played a crucial role for Celtic this season and during his time for the club.